According to The Times (thanks, Gavin), President Obama is planing fresh action on the Zimbabwean crisis using the UN as a means of bringing Mugabe’s dictatorship to its knees and usher in a new era of democracy in the beleaguered nation. He’s even hoping to bring China and Russia on board (both notorious Zimbabwe supporters).

During talks Mr Obama has had with his top Africa advisers in recent weeks, the central idea they focused on was taking the issue of Zimbabwe before the UN Security Council, but for the first time to combine such a move with an intense diplomatic effort to persuade Russia and China not to block the initiative.

According to a senior aide present at the discussions, the goal of taking the issue of Zimbabwe to the Security Council would be to pass a series of “strong” sanctions, including a ban on arms sales and foreign investment. They also want to expand significantly the number of ruling Zanu-PF party officials subject to sanctions.